Menu Monday IIII (With a product review)

So I got one of these for Christmas. It is an electric skillet from GE. Before anyone out there starts feeling sorry for me or thinks that my husband is a looser, I asked for it OK. Actually what I asked for was just an electric skillet to replace my old one that the handle broke off of. What I got was three times bigger and completely awesome! I haven't used it much since I got it because it is so big, in fact I have only used it once until Saturday night. I was making a new soup recipe and I thought instead of doing it in my usual soup pot I would whip this baby out and see how it went. I was beyond impressed! It has several different settings for cooking as well as for keeping thingswarm. It cooked really evenly and I have but one complaint about it.

IT HUGE!!!!

This is going to be a little bit of a problem because I am used to using it for smaller things but I am sure I can adjust.

Anyway, this is the recipe I tried in it and it turned out fabulous!

Corn and Sausage Soup

2 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup diced carrots

6 tbsp butter

1 1/2 lb fully cooked smoked sausage

diced into about 1/2 inch chunks

3 cloves garlic minced

4 cans tomato sauce

2 cans corn drained

1 large can diced tomatoes

2 cup beef broth

3 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp pepper

In a heavy pot (or electric skillet), heat butter and add celery, carrots, and onion. Saute until soft, and add sausage and garlic. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Use beef broth to de-glaze pan and add remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves before serving.

I made some modifications to this recipe but they are reflected above. The original recipe called for green and red peppers instead of carrots, but I don't like them. I used canned corn instead of the frozen it asked for. It also called for Italian diced tomatoes, and sauce and I didn't have either so I upped my herbs and added regular of both. I also replaced the water that it called for with beef broth for a deeper flavor. It turned out really well. I added salt because the recipe didn't call for any but realized that it didn't need any with the beef broth and the sausage. It was almost too salty, but we really liked it that way! I made home made bread to go with it, and it was the perfect winter soup.

I highly recommend this recipe and the skillet I cooked it in!